Pitt’s Fall 2017 First Gear Cohort Honors

Nitrix, which is aiming for a less expensive solution for treating chronic wounds, wins $5000.

Through the University of Pittsburgh’s Innovation Institute, the First Gear program helps shape Pitt inventions originating from University research from early-stage discovery to products and services that can be taken to market. The program offers hands-on guidance and mentorship that takes an inventor through the necessary steps in creating a go-to-market plan that can result in the creation of a new enterprise or licensing agreement for the technology.

Nitrix, which is aiming for a less expensive solution for treating chronic wounds, received $5,000 from the Chancellor Innovation Commercialization Funds at the most recent Pitt Ventures First Gear Demo Day. Nitrix is one of the latest products of the
McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
in the laboratory of principal investigator (PI) Bryan Brown, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering. Dr. Brown’s graduate student researcher, Samuel LoPresti (pictured left), the project’s entrepreneurial lead (EL), said First Gear helped in engaging clinical experts to learn what needs they have in wound care and in proving that the technology his team is developing is an advance over current standards via small animal studies.